Why the NHL Standings are awful

Posted 12:42 PM ET | Comments 6

I am looking at the current standings and have a problem with the way games are settled. If you read my blog, you know I hate the shootout, but this is more about the mystery 3 point games. If you look closely at the standings, the real margin between teams is totally blurred by the OTL column of the standings.

Here is the current standings with a column that I added based on the points secured per game played.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic GP W L OTL PTS Pts/Game
NYR 23 14 7 2 30 1.30
Pitts 20 12 5 3 27 1.35
NJ 19 10 7 2 22 1.16
Phila 19 9 6 4 22 1.16
NYI 20 8 10 2 18 0.90
Northeast
Boston 21 14 3 4 32 1.52
Montreal 19 11 5 3 25 1.32
Buffalo 20 9 8 3 21 1.05
Toronto 20 7 8 5 19 0.95
Ottawa 20 7 9 4 18 0.90
Southest
Wash 20 11 6 3 25 1.25
Carolina 20 11 7 2 24 1.20
TB 19 6 7 6 18 0.95
Atlanta 19 7 10 2 16 0.84
Florida 19 7 11 1 15 0.79
Western Conference
Central GP W L OTL PTS Pts/Game
Detroit 19 14 2 3 31 1.63
Chicago 19 10 4 5 25 1.32
Colum 20 9 8 3 21 1.05
Nashville 19 9 9 1 19 1.00
St. Louis 18 8 8 2 18 1.00
Northwest
Vancouver 21 13 6 2 28 1.33
Minnesota 18 11 6 1 23 1.28
Calgary 21 11 9 1 23 1.10
Edmonton 20 9 9 2 20 1.00
Colorado 19 9 10 0 18 0.95
Pacific
San Jose 21 17 3 1 35 1.67
Anaheim 22 11 8 3 25 1.14
LA 19 8 8 3 19 1.00
Phoenix 19 8 9 2 18 0.95
Dallas 19 6 9 4 16 0.84

What this shows is that even teams with really bad losing records almost secure 1 point per game played. This 3 point game occurs in roughly 26% of games played this season and is really contributing to keeping teams in the playoff race that do not belong.

Again I beg the NHL to remove the 3rd mystery point from the game. Go back to the days that all games are worth the same. If you feel you must keep the shootout (which I hate - read about my alternative here: http://my.hockeybuzz.com/...828&post_id=6677 ). Then make all regulation wins worth 3 points and take a point away from a team for being extended to OT/shootout.

I would love to see the standing re-worked to include this plan where a win is worth 3 and an OT (fake manufactured win is worth 2) shown to see how quality teams would be far more separated from the pack and teams that are playing awful like Dallas (not picking on Dallas, but they have played woeful this year and are still only a mere 5 points out of playoff position) would be buried much deeper in the standings.

Filed Under: NHL Standings

rdfred

November 23, 2008 1:22 PM ET | Delete
Your whole 'thesis' loses its credibility by one thing: the standings under your way are exactly the same. Now I do agree that a reg time win should be 3 points, 2 points for an ot/so win, and 1 point for an ot/so loss.

watsonnostaw

November 23, 2008 6:35 PM ET | Delete
what also is a joke is the teams who started in Europe having the lead in the conference standings but in actuality they are not as good as some teams below them for example the rangers, 3 more GP....the starting of the season in Europe week before everyone else has got to stop, no one cares about the Euro games and its skews the stats.... its pretty sad when the season started over there, teams were still playing preseason games in north america

Predaceous

November 23, 2008 10:01 PM ET | Delete
It's not like they won't eventually end up with the same amount of games played by season's end. Geez what a weak sentiment.

EdmOilFan

November 24, 2008 12:00 PM ET | Delete
At the end of the season, the OTL and SOL are nothing more than tiebreakers for the middle of the pack teams. The majority of the standings don't change at all. Re-organize the standings based on wins first, then add OTL/SOL as tie-breakers for teams tied in Wins. Nothing much changes. All the overtime points do is make the standings APPEAR closer, and ultimately sells more tickets at the end of the season now that more teams are in the hunt.

smiler2729

November 24, 2008 12:21 PM ET | Delete
"3 point" games are a joke. The NHL standings, unlike other sports, are formulated on the 2 points/1 point dynamic which makes it stand out above the same old Win Pct./Games Behind formula. It's been like this since its inception so you can't change it - BUT - awarding a point for losing is stupid so I have the ultimate solution to save the game.2 Pts for a regulation win, 1 pt. for an extra time win (OT or SO) and nothing for losing. Think of it, no more teams "playing for the tie" in the 3rd period. It would be balls-out hockey putting the emphasis on the 60 minute game! I am. Brilliant.

Phigment

November 25, 2008 7:51 PM ET | Delete
Well if you read the entire post you would see that I could not adjust the standings since none of the sites store regulation wins. Also the 3 point win will distance teams winning in regulation from winning in the shootout or OT.

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